Learn more about the 2022-2023 Fellow's culminating projects below!
Static Aerated Compost
Alex Kohler - Troy, OH
Conventionally turned compost piles require intensive work and maintenance for proper decomposition. By using forced airflow, static aerated compost creates a system that requires less work, is easier to maintain, and finishes compost more quickly. This project built and managed a static aerated compost system at the Allegheny Farm.
Developing SNAP as a Form of Payment for AMI’s CSA
Donovan Glasgow - Corrales, NM
Despite the area’s deep agricultural heritage, accessing local fruit and vegetables in Highland County is a challenge for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This project explores ways AMI could create an additional avenue for SNAP users to access locally-grown produce through its Community Supported Agriculture program, a weekly vegetable box with educational recipes.
“We Are All Indigenous to Somewhere:” Exploring and Complicating My European-American Ancestry
Emily Stehr - Oakland, CA
The idea that “white people have no culture” obscures both the culture of white supremacy and the fact that those able to assimilate into “whiteness” did so at the expense of their rich indigenous cultures. This project explores ancient Celtic land-based lifeways and considers their potential synergy with contemporary traditions. It also provides a guide for other white settler folks to engage in similar work with their own ancestral lineages.
Pollinators Abuzz!
Amanda Vogel - Fort Worth, TX
While folks are aware of our reliance on the imported European honey bee and its critical role in agricultural pollination, a lot of us don’t realize how much we also depend on the tenacity of other pollinators, such as native bees, wasps, flies, moths, butterflies, ants, birds, and bats. This project explores the indispensable role these rabble-rousers play in the web of life and how we all can do just a bit more to keep them buzzing along.
A Good Egg: An Analysis of the AMI Chicken Systems
Brennan Henning - Blacksburg, VA
From the chickens and ducks, to the cows and our friendly farm dogs, animals play a critical role on the farm and Fellow experience. In light of the physically and mentally exhausting work of farming, it is important to refine the systems for their care. This Capstone project dives into possibilities of improving the chicken system at AMI to make it increasingly productive from both an economic standpoint and for easier caretaking.
AMI Kitchen Guide and Six Seasons Cookbook
Alex Youssef - Washington, DC
Despite its many benefits, access to seasonally appropriate, local food is not a reality for most people in the United States. Because of this, most incoming Fellows have never grown or cooked hyper-seasonally or for large groups. This project offers guidance in the AMI kitchen as well as six “seasons” of recipes to address feeding larger groups and the ever-changing produce availability at the AMI farm.
Cut Flower Planting Succession and Guide for Highland County
Arden Rosenthal - Santa Cruz, CA
Though flowers are not a top priority at most farms, they offer warm pops of color that contribute to happiness and beauty. This Capstone creates a Highland County-based guide - including succession planting dates - for flowers ranging from sunflowers and zinnias to strawflowers and celosia.